Ohio Senator Rob Portman on Friday
announced he's had a change of heart on gay marriage.
In 2004, Portman, a Republican, voted
in favor of a constitutional amendment banning such unions. And in
1999 he supported a bill which sought to ban gay and lesbian couples
in the District of Columbia from adopting children.
In an op-ed published in the Columbus
Dispatch, Portman wrote: “I believe all of our sons and
daughters ought to have the same opportunity to experience the joy
and stability of marriage.”
In the piece, Portman concedes that he
once felt differently.
“Then something happened that led me
to think through my position in a much deeper way.”
“Two years ago, my son Will, then a
college freshman, told my wife, Jane, and me that he is gay. He said
he'd known for some time, and that his sexual orientation wasn't
something he chose; it was simply a part of who he is. Jane and I
were proud of him for his honesty and courage.”
“At the time, my position on marriage
for same-sex couples was rooted in my faith tradition that marriage
is a sacred bond between a man and a woman. Knowing that my son is
gay prompted me to consider the issue from another perspective: that
of a dad who wants all three of his kids to lead happy, meaningful
lives with the people they love, a blessing Jane and I have shared
for 26 years.”
Portman added that allowing gay couples
to marry “doesn't amount to a threat but rather a tribute to
marriage, and a potential source of renewed strength for the
institution.”
However, Portman did not call for the
Supreme Court to strike down Proposition 8, California's
voter-approved amendment defining marriage as a heterosexual union,
or the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Instead, he said “change
should come about through the democratic process in the states.”
“Judicial intervention from
Washington would circumvent that process as it's moving in the
direction of recognizing marriage for same-sex couples. An expansive
court ruling would run the risk of deepening divisions rather than
resolving them.”
Marc Solomon, national campaign
director for Freedom to Marry, applauded Portman's new stance.
“We greatly appreciate Senator
Portman's sharing his journey on the freedom to marry with his
constituents and with the American people,” Solomon said in a
statement. “It's a beautifully human experience for a father to
listen with an open heart to his son, to reflect on his own beliefs,
and conclude that he wants for his son the same opportunity for
happiness that comes with being able to marry that he and his wife
have.”